In squats, make sure you sit backwards and down, not just straight down. Sitting back keeps your knees behind your toes at the bottom of the squat and keeps the weight in your heels- this is GOOD form! Think of squeezing your glutes to stand up

Jump twist- the driving force of the move is moving your hips by squeezing your abs

Lateral line hops- find a line, or imagine a line and hop side to side over it with your feet together

Speed skaters- the images above indicate the side motions of the movements, try to have 1-2 feet of distance in between each side

In lunges, your knees need to be behind your toes at the bottom of the range of motion, just like squats 🙂

Standing leg extension- squeeze your abs to help with balance! Never let your leg drop lower than a 90 degree angle with your hip, if your leg is not high enough, you will not feel the burn 😉

Squat to leg abduction- you squat, and on the way up from the squat starting kicking your leg directly out to the side (not forward, not backward), and only lift your leg as high as you are comfortable with. As you lower the leg you return to a squat and then on the way up you lift the other leg out to the side. This move is good for the outer butt muscles, so focus on feeling the burn there!

Lunge with glute lift- similar to the move above. As you come up from the lunge kick your leg backward and upward, keeping the leg straight. This lunge is to be done stationary, meaning you do not step forward or step backward into the lunge, rather you split your legs to set your stance and bend your knees from there to start the lunge

Hurdle hops- You begin by doing 2-6 high knees (not pictured) and then you lift your legs ‘up and over’ think of how you would hop laterally over a hurdle or a fence- one leg has to lead and one leg has to follow

It’s snowing, it’s too cold, it’s too early, I’m busy this time of year, it’s to dark to get up for the gym, I don’t feel good, I just don’t want to drive, I don’t have enough time.

Common excuses used this time of year, something about the winter is just less, motivating. BUT you can do anything from the comfort of your own home right? You don’t even need that much space!

So here it is, Day 1 of The 12 Days of Workouts.

All bodyweight exercises, all 30 minutes long (except for Day 12) and all easy to do, with easy to follow pictures!

DAY 1

See how many reps of the folowing 3 exercises you can do in a row, with good form. When you start to lose form, slow down or perform half reps- stop there. Use this as a baseline to compare at the end 🙂

Squat reps to failure

Push up reps to failure

Elbow plank hold to failure, for time

HIIT: 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off:

Round 1: 3X through

Jumping jacks

Push ups

Mountain climbers

Rest 60 seconds

Round 2: 3X through

High knees

Tricep dips

Plank jacks

Rest 60 seconds

Round 3: 3X through

Vertical jumps

Shoulder push ups

Side plank hip dips –EACH!

Rest 60 seconds

Round 4: 3X through

Front kicks

Small shoulder circles

Plank with glute raises

DONE!

Exercises Part 1:

A1&2- Jumping Jacks

B1&2-Push ups

C1&2- Mountain climbers

D1&2- Tricep dips

E1&2- Plank jacks

F1&2- Plank with glute raises

Exercises Part 2:

G1&2: Shoulder push ups

H1&2: Side plank hip dips

H3&4: Modified side plank hip dips

i1&2: vertical jumps

J1,2,&3: Alternating front kicks

K: small shoulder circles

Exercise tips:

In any plank position, focus on squeezing the abs tight. Think of squeezing your belly button to your spine. Also think of pinching a penny in your butt checks (Serious!) this helps keep your hips down and in alignment with the rest of your body. Your back side should look like a straight line while planking, even in plank jacks or mountain climbers!

During squats, focus on squeezing your glutes on the upward motion to stand. Keep your knees behind your toes when in the down position, and your heels always in contact with the floor. Think of squatting over a port-a-potty- you have to sit back far enough and down far enough to go 😉

Moves like tricep dips and push ups can be done on elevated surfaces such as a chair, bedside, couch, etc. Doing tricep dips with your hands elevated makes it harder, doing push ups with your hands elevated makes it easier

Exercises like jumping jacks, high knees, vertical jumps can be done in a stepping format instead of jumping to protect injured knees

Small shoulder circles should be just that- SMALL! Keeping the up and parallel to the floor the whole time, while also making tiny circles will burn

If you have weights, feel free to use them where it is possible to make it harder!